It’s Time to Move On
The time has come and you’ve decided that it is time to move house. With relocation imminent you engage your trusty agent.
Selling means “Open House” and with luck, your Open House will have lots of names on the visitors register and lots of contracts handed out. The more people the better.
You have de-cluttered and dressed your home for maximum appeal.
It is such a shame though, that not everyone who is going to come and have a look at your home is a prospective buyer.
Some people will be looking at making your home, theirs. These are your people. All the others are just there for a stickybeak; to look at and possibly use your design ideas. These may be neighbours or just passers-by.
You don’t want these people at your Open House
There is one group though, that you would pay good money to keep away from your home, not only during the Open House but at all times.
Potential burglars also have access to the real estate section of the local papers where Open House details are advertised. They may come along so they can scope out your home to see what level of security is in place and determine what might be the weakest part of the home for future break and enter.
Unfortunately the ‘register of interest’ details these people will give to the agent are false but there is no way of knowing who they really are or what they are really there for.
It is interesting, however, that Residential Break, Enter and Steal is likely to happen once a home is sold and the settlement period is underway which is prior to the original owners moving out. It also occur shortly after a home is newly inhabited by the successful bidder and their family.
There are 2 elements to Crime
Crime, specifically Residential Break, Enter and Steal, is made up of two elements. Those elements are Motivation and Opportunity.
For most Residential Break, Enter and Steal events, both elements must be in place in order for the crime to occur. Motivation may certainly be there, but it is possible for homeowners to reduce or even eliminate the Opportunity.
I sourced BOCSAR (Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research) to backup the statements I was making.
A presentation at the Applied Research in Crime and Justice Conference 2013 highlighted the results of a collaborative study between the NSW Attorney General’s office and NSW Corrective Services. Andrew Webber and Emma Worthington presented the results of their comprehensive Residential Break and Enter Offender Study. They interviewed 229 offenders at 17 correctional centres with a 66% response rate. In the study, the median age of offenders was 31 with the youngest 18 and the oldest 62.
The researchers specifically wanted to know what characteristics of a home attracted or detracted their antisocial engagement.
What is it that perpetrators see when they look at your home from the street? What are the features of your home that are going to affect an intruder’s decision to break in? Does the overt presence of an external siren and strobe or a camera make a difference? In short, why would they choose your home?
It is still, primarily to do with Drugs
The motivations of residential break and enter offenders in NSW appears to have changed little in the last 15 years. Consistent with BOCSAR’s 1998 study, drugs continue to be a primary motivator for offenders. The intruders have also seen their earnings rise and are now estimating earnings of around $2,000 per week compared to $1,680 in 1998.
What detracts an Offender?
According to the BOSCAR study, the detractors were indications that the home was occupied (noise), CCTV, Alarms, dogs cars in the driveway or features that made it difficult to gain entry such as bars on windows and doors or apartments on upper floors.
Most offenders appeared extremely hesitant to break into any home that might be occupied.
Several offenders specifically mentioned that people present in the home was important because it could lead to an aggravated break and enter charge which carries a lengthier sentence.
So what then attracts?
In contrast, the elements that are most likely to draw offenders were cues that indicate the home is wealthy (eg located in a wealthy suburb; they know there is $3K + of valuables inside), or those that make it accessible and also easy to get away (eg nearby laneway, easy access to back door). Tall fences, privacy screens and hedges or other trees that allow intruders to stay out of sight were also attractive to intruders.
‘Looked like no-one was home’ was the reason for over 27% of offenders, closely followed by knowledge of the goods inside (25.4% of offenders).
What is also clear is that knowing what they’re going to get is also important; awareness of the goods inside, finding places that looked wealthy or even knowing the people who lived there (and the goods they own) made places targets.
For others, opportunity is important; an open door or window or a home that looked easy to enter were primary motivations behind their most recent break ins.
So what can you do?
Keep security overt. Keep it subtle but keep it visible. The siren box on the eaves legitimises the security alarm; security stickers on the windows also made it look ‘too hard’. Evidence of CCTV cameras were also a deterrent.
Intruders (criminals), like most the rest of us are motivated by needs, desires and the probable benefits/ costs of behaviour. With very few exceptions, offenders don’t want to be caught or punished. Nor do they want to invest time and energy in crime if the risks of being caught are high and the returns are low (risk for reward). It is no accident that burglars often target certain houses.
The Police are there to help
The Police are a fabulous resource. Officers in your Local Area Command (LAC) are up to date and aware of all crime in your area; they are also there to reduce crime; they are a free resource; and they are not trying to sell anything.
The
Crime Prevention Officer in each command has done special training in Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED).
I encourage people to use the Police but you must ensure that you specifically ask for the Crime Prevention Officer.
The name of the game is to Increase the Detractors, Decrease the Attractors and you’ll find that this will help to keep the break, enter and steal statistic from adding you to its list.
Happy Open House.
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